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Lilies Details

1996 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 50
  • from 1205 members

A Catholic bishop is taken hostage in a prison by his boyhood friend, Simon, in 1952. Simon forces his boyhood friend to reenact the events that shaped both their lives forty years earlier. This intriguing love story won Best Canadian Film at the Montreal Film Festival, 4 Genie Awards (including Best Film), and Best Film at the .. Read more

Starring Marcel Sabourin, Aubert Pallascio, Jason Cadieux
Director John Greyson
Genres Drama

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Lilies

A Catholic bishop is taken hostage in a prison by his boyhood friend, Simon, in 1952. Simon forces his boyhood friend to reenact the events that shaped both their lives forty years earlier. This intriguing love story won Best Canadian Film at the Montreal Film Festival, 4 Genie Awards (including Best Film), and Best Film at the San Francisco, LA and Johannesburg FIlm Festivals.

Starring Marcel Sabourin, Aubert Pallascio, Jason Cadieux
Director John Greyson
Studio MILLIVRES MULTIMEDIA
Run time DVD: 1 hr 32 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 06 Sep 2004
Production year: 1996
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (5) of Lilies

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  • 2 stars out of 5

    It's easy to spot that John Greyson's tale of lingering bitterness and repressed sexuality was adapted from a play. But while the seamless shifts between past and present might have impressed on stage, they appear here as stilted as Michel Marc Bouchard's dialogue. The tactic of using theatrics to prick a hardened conscience clearly derives from Hamlet. But the cross-dressing teen re-enactment of the death of St Sebastian (staged by prisoner Aubert Pallascio to shame Marcel Sabourin, the schooldays nemesis who is now a prominent bishop) simply heaps artifice upon contrivance. The juvenile cast impresses, but, cinematically, this is a disappointment.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • "...This intelligent, beautiful, innovative movie... Not since the 60s masterpieces by Bertolucci and Coppola has there been such an exquisite display of voluptuous filmmaking..."

    • Wasington City Paper
    • Posted 11 Mar 2005

  • Most helpful member's review of Lilies

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  • 12 out of 12 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    Beautiful and haunting

    Although I needed to watch twice to understand exactly what was going on, I highly recommend one of the best gay themed stories it's been my pleasure to see.

    The film is almost a theatrical experience, drawing intense emotion so it feels you're watching something staged right in front of you. Background accompaniment of sung Latin mass heightens the impact.

    Early last century in rural Quebec two schoolboys are in love. Another is consumed by jealousy because he wants one of them for his own.

    Forty years later, a Bishop is called to a prison by its chaplain to hear a dying man's confession.

    How these stories relate to each other is the substance of the film.

    It's haunting, a poignant story of gay love that effectively shows romance needn't be light and fluffy. I've seen many more explicit films, but few equal the eroticism of one memorable scene in this movie.

    In a complex structure consisting largely of flashbacks shown as the staging of a play, gradually all is revealed. Inmates take all parts, including female characters, with acting so good that doesn't distract or annoy.

      • A customer from Glasgow, Scotland
      • Posted 23 Jan 2005 18:38

  • Most recent members' review of Lilies

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  • 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star

    What the...?

    It is extremely seldom and with great reluctance that I would stop watching a film before the end but that is precisely what I felt I had to do with this movie. I must mention that the cast is excellent given the very nature of the movie and the absurd premise under which they are forced to perform - both the real set and the 'imagined' set complete with bearded ladies. Overall, the narrative is confused and slightly nonsensical. Instead of relying on plot or character to keep the viewer's attention the director promises some beautiful sexual relationship to develop. But, after 20 minutes, I would be surprised if anyone actually cared. Bof!

      • A customer from Newcastle, England
      • Posted 10 Jul 2005 12:40

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Rating breakdown

1,205 Member ratings
  • 100
81
  • 90
60
  • 80
118
  • 70
124
  • 60
165
  • 50
156
  • 40
149
  • 30
127
  • 20
151
  • 10
74

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      • A Catholic bishop is taken hostage in a prison by his boyhood friend, Simon, in 1952. Simon forces his boyhood friend to reenact the events that shaped both their lives forty years earlier. This ...